Ken, that is a GREAT idea using threads for that heavy one-piece FelPro. Why do you raise the engine? Ive never had clearance issues (aside from unbolting the exhaust at the flange on the 258) with oil pans on any of my Jeeps over the years. I replaced the pan gasket on the Wrongler a couple of weeks back, and "tried" to use the one piece model. Kept falling off into the pan. I got frustrated, wadded that puppy up and threw it in the trash. Put a standard 4 piece on with red RTV and it's dry as a bone. Wish I'd seen the thread idea before sending that nice gasket to the city dump.

Most of us can't remove the oil pan on a CJ/258 because the pass motor mount gets in the way. You have to remove it to get the pan out.

Ahh!! Now that makes sense. I guess I've lucked out on my motor/models over the years! I've been in deer hunting mode over the past few months, and have neglected the forum Glad to see you're still over here stirring the pot!

What happened to Montana? I got back from my elk trip two weeks ago. Now I know why you were itchin' to move! That place will ruin a man. We saw loads of elk, but got stingy early and passed up small bulls in hope of something bigger. I did use one tag on day one with this young mule deer. This is a baby compared to the one's Matt and the other western boys shoot, but I wanted to fill my muley tag first.

Ahh!! Now that makes sense. I guess I've lucked out on my motor/models over the years! I've been in deer hunting mode over the past few months, and have neglected the forum Glad to see you're still over here stirring the pot!

What happened to Montana? I got back from my elk trip two weeks ago. Now I know why you were itchin' to move! That place will ruin a man. We saw loads of elk, but got stingy early and passed up small bulls in hope of something bigger. I did use one tag on day one with this young mule deer. This is a baby compared to the one's Matt and the other western boys shoot, but I wanted to fill my muley tag first.

Ahhh... that explains a lot. No more pics of the hunt? Did you get an Elk? I think the Mulie is awesome, having never seen one!

I didn't get the Montana job. They wanted someone with teaching experience, but I did make it through two interviews. Kind of glad... I was worried about separating from my family, moving, and trying to sell this big'ol house in podunk land!

KerrdogGo Fish!<*////><

But the right word at the right time... "Hey, give me a little hug!" That's the difference between lightning and a harmless lightning bug!

Clay and I were attempting to install the soft doors on his Jeep as the weather is getting a bit nippy (28* is our low so far)! Since we don't have any experience with installation, everything is a frist-time. We knew (we THOUGHT we knew) we would have to change the WS angle to fit the door uppers. And I thought, "Cool, guaranteed to have the correct WS angle." But what a HUGE PITB this has been! I guess we knew it would be difficult, and that's why we have waited so long to do the install. We had to mount the lower hinges (Kentrol black SS). We hung the door on the upper hinge, closed the door, marked the location for the lower, drilled, and bolted it up. Bending the door pins to make it fit better, making sure the gasket sealed around the door opening, these are the things that drove us in our installation. Shoulda worked! Here are the pics of our progress.

It's all good...

Freakin Jeeps.

Remember this?

Pencil marks the spots.

Drilling fiberglass with a slow drill speed is BETTER than drilling fast! Something NEW I learned.

Looks good from a distance. The door was hard to close. It would bind on the weatherstrip just under the hinge. The PO had bent the pins outward for his application. We needed to bend the pins inward.

This is the gap we ended up with. The door sealed everywhere else quite well. We are wondering, at this point, what our WS angle is going to be. We also wanted to move the door forward some, so we bent the pin.

And cracked it!

Just a *Progress* pic to make it look like we are actually accomplishing something GOOD!

This is the gap at the top. The WS frame is pretty much touching the A Pillar. I told Clay we were going to have to remove the cage, and he just about died! Just kidding, of course!!! Sorrry Clay! I don't see any other way to bend, change, modify the steel in the door to make it fit properly to the WS channel. We are talking about getting some 3/8 round stock and bending our own uppers, then a sail shop. Whadyallthink!?

Why didn't I fall in love with F150s? I mean, I have TWO of them right now! I could have nice, heavy doors with great weather seal characteristics, comfortable seats, premium sound system, smooth ride, and room for... for... whatever!

KerrdogGo Fish!<*////><

But the right word at the right time... "Hey, give me a little hug!" That's the difference between lightning and a harmless lightning bug!

How it the fit of the rear of the door to the top? I have to tweak my doors occasionally to get them to fit right some times after stacking them in the back seat area on those warm days with cold nights. I just grab the top of the door and pull it forward towards the windshield frame.

That does look like quite a gap though, and the measurement from the back of the tub to the windshield flange should set the proper angle for the doors.

How it the fit of the rear of the door to the top? I have to tweak my doors occasionally to get them to fit right some times after stacking them in the back seat area on those warm days with cold nights. I just grab the top of the door and pull it forward towards the windshield frame.

That does look like quite a gap though, and the measurement from the back of the tub to the windshield flange should set the proper angle for the doors.

Chalk it up to Newbness! I set the windshield angle according to my 7 (using a T Bevel Square), then we installed the cage. Unless I have missed the boat with the doors, it is apparent I didnt get the WS angle right, hence the A Pillar isn't right. We haven't raised the top yet to see what the fitment is like at that point... I am hoping for the best and expecting the worst! It's still the coolest ride in my part of town! I have a couple ideas for mods to make it where Clay can use it during the winter. I just have to explore them some.

KerrdogGo Fish!<*////><

But the right word at the right time... "Hey, give me a little hug!" That's the difference between lightning and a harmless lightning bug!

Chalk it up to Newbness! I set the windshield angle according to my 7 (using a T Bevel Square), then we installed the cage. Unless I have missed the boat with the doors, it is apparent I didnt get the WS angle right, hence the A Pillar isn't right. We haven't raised the top yet to see what the fitment is like at that point... I am hoping for the best and expecting the worst! It's still the coolest ride in my part of town! I have a couple ideas for mods to make it where Clay can use it during the winter. I just have to explore them some.

I have no doubt that it IS the coolest ride in town....but why would Clayton take the van to town??

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government"
-- Thomas Jefferson, 1 Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

With some careful grinding you will be able to free the main hoop in the front there from the forward bars. My suggestion is at the dash level take a 3/32" wafer disc and make a cut through 95% of the tube leaving a bit at the front, bed it back, then use the wafer disc to clearance out the cut again until you have it bent back far enough, then cut open the groove one more time and weld it shut to ensure good penetration. before you make that weld however you need to measure how far back you are moving the main hoop, and then cut back and notch the cross tubes, you will want them tacked in place before you weld it all up.

It is a bit of an involved job but it is something that you should be able to knock out in a few days. It will jack up the paint on the roll bar, but I think in the long run you will be much better served by fixing it "right" like this so as that in the future if Clay needs to buy a new top, he can simply order a bestop from Quadratec or who ever and install it with out having to have something custom made.

The reason for this is what if he for what ever reason winds up away from home in his jeep and needs a top in a hurry, like say a vandal cuts it open, or a tree branch rips it open and the whether is bad. Being able to have a new top overnighted is a nice option verses having to find someone to custom make you one. Especially if it is raining and he has to drive a long distance home.

With some careful grinding you will be able to free the main hoop in the front there from the forward bars. My suggestion is at the dash level take a 3/32" wafer disc and make a cut through 95% of the tube leaving a bit at the front, bed it back, then use the wafer disc to clearance out the cut again until you have it bent back far enough, then cut open the groove one more time and weld it shut to ensure good penetration. before you make that weld however you need to measure how far back you are moving the main hoop, and then cut back and notch the cross tubes, you will want them tacked in place before you weld it all up.

It is a bit of an involved job but it is something that you should be able to knock out in a few days. It will jack up the paint on the roll bar, but I think in the long run you will be much better served by fixing it "right" like this so as that in the future if Clay needs to buy a new top, he can simply order a bestop from Quadratec or who ever and install it with out having to have something custom made.

The reason for this is what if he for what ever reason winds up away from home in his jeep and needs a top in a hurry, like say a vandal cuts it open, or a tree branch rips it open and the whether is bad. Being able to have a new top overnighted is a nice option verses having to find someone to custom make you one. Especially if it is raining and he has to drive a long distance home.

That is a significantly labor-intensive job, but one that COULD be necessary down the road. The overhead spreader bars would also have to be cut to move the A pillar back. Hoowee... I don't even want to THINK about it! We continued working on it this morning, and this is what we came up with...

Pretty much finished the top install. There is a little tweaking we will do, but I think it is good enough. I took a couple shots in monochrome. I think it came out pretty cool!

Attached Thumbnails

KerrdogGo Fish!<*////><

But the right word at the right time... "Hey, give me a little hug!" That's the difference between lightning and a harmless lightning bug!

You know for a temporary fix you could use some two sided tape to mount a piece of thin metal or plastic in there just to fill the gap to make the door seal to the windshield until you are able to do the big job of fixing the roll cage right.